Meet The Performers

CSO Musicians

Robert Chen's activities as a soloist include performances with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Moscow Philharmonic, New Japan Philharmonic, Orchestra of the Komische Oper Berlin, and the Bournemouth Symphony.

Patricia Dash

CSO Musician since 1989

Percussion

Appointed to the CSO by Sir Georg Solti when she was just twenty-four, Patricia was born in Rochester, New York where she began her percussion studies at the age of nine. She received a diploma with honors and a certificate of merit from the Eastman School of Music’s Preparatory Department in 1979, and went on to earn a Bachelor of Music degree with distinction from Eastman in 1983.

David Taylor

Assistant Concertmaster since 1979

Violin - Assistant Concertmaster

Known to Chicago audiences as a versatile soloist, chamber player, and orchestral musician, violinist David Taylor joined the Chicago Symphony Orchestra as assistant concertmaster in 1979. Born in Canton, Ohio, in 1949, David began to study violin with his father at the age of four.

Susanna Drake

CSO Musician since 2006

Horn

Just prior to joining the CSO, Susanna performed regularly as a freelancer in San Francisco with the San Francisco Symphony, LucasArts Productions (recording movie soundtracks), the California Symphony and the Santa Rosa Symphony. She also has held various positions in other orchestras across the country.

Peter Conover

Librarian since 1998

Principal Librarian

Peter Conover joined the Chicago Symphony Orchestra as librarian in 1998 and was named principal librarian a year later. As an orchestral librarian, Peter has been involved with the Major Orchestra Librarians’ Association (MOLA), having served on the Publications Committee and as the editor of Marcato, MOLA’s quarterly newsletter.

Yuan-Qing Yu

CSO Musician since 1995

Assistant Concertmaster

Yuan-Qing Yu joined the CSO in 1995 and a year later, Daniel Barenboim appointed her assistant concertmaster. An international award-winning violinist, Yuan-Qing leads an active life in music as a soloist, chamber musician, teacher and advocate of the CSO.

Michael Mulcahy

CSO Musician since 1989

Trombone

Appointed by Sir Georg Solti, Michael is also principal trombone of Chicago’s Music of the Baroque and the Grand Teton Music Festival. His orchestral career began in 1976 as principal trombone of the Tasmanian Symphony. A year later, he attained the same chair with the Melbourne Symphony. He left Australia in 1981 to pursue a career in Europe, where he became solo trombone of the Cologne Radio Symphony.

Sarah Bullen

CSO Musician since 1997

Principal Harp

Appointed principal harp of the CSO in 1997, Sarah held the same position with the New York Philharmonic from 1987 to 1997. She began her orchestra career in 1981 as principal harp of the Utah Symphony and has been critically acclaimed as a soloist throughout her career.

Oto Carrillo

CSO Musician since 2000

Horn

Prior to joining the CSO, Oto held positions in the South Bend and Southwest Michigan symphony orchestras. He is on the faculty at DePaul University and at the Symphony Orchestra Academy of the Pacific (SOAP Festival) in British Columbia, Canada.

Hermine Gagné

CSO Musician since 2003

Violin

Born in Montreal, Canada, Hermine began studying the violin at the age of four with Jacqueline S. David. At nine years old, she entered the Conservatoire de Musique de Montréal and graduated in 2000 with honors. While pursuing a master’s degree under instructor Kathleen Winkler at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music, Hermine was awarded the Sallie Shepherd Perkins Prize for Highest Achievement in Music.

James Ross

CSO Musician since 1979

Percussion

Jim joined the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in 1979. He made his solo debut with the Orchestra in 1986 in Milhaud’s Concerto for Percussion and Chamber Orchestra under Erich Leinsdorf. A member of the Grant Park Symphony from 1973 to 1978, he returned to that orchestra in the summer of 1993 as a soloist in Toru Takemitsu’s From me flows what you call Time.

Paul Phillips, Jr.

CSO Musician since 1980

Violin

Paul Phillips joined the CS0 at the invitation of Sir Georg Solti, bringing a wealth of experience acquired in Indianapolis and Detroit. He played in the Indianapolis Symphony for four years under Chicagoan Izler Solomon, and was a member of the Indianapolis String Quartet.

Kenneth Olsen

CSO Musician since 2005

Assistant Principal Cello - The Adele Gidwitz Chair

Kenneth Olsen joined the Chicago Symphony Orchestra as Assistant Principal Cello in 2005. A native of New York, Mr. Olsen is a founding member of the East Coast Chamber Orchestra (ECCO), a group of talented young musicians from orchestras and ensembles all over the country.

Vadim Karpinos

CSO Musician since 2001

Assistant Principal Timpani

Vadim Karpinos was appointed to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in 2001 by Daniel Barenboim. He has appeared as a soloist with the Chicago Symphony and at Roosevelt University, where he has been an adjunct faculty member since 2005.

David Sanders

CSO Musician since 1974

Cello

David began playing cello at the age of fourteen in high school in Miami, Florida, and made his solo debut eighteen months later with the Miami Symphonic Society Orchestra. He was a scholarship student at the University of Miami and Florida State University summer orchestra festivals, the Eastern Music Festival, and the London Symphony Institute.

Lei Hou

CSO Musician since 1997

Violin

Active as a soloist and chamber musician in addition to her full-time duty with the CSO, Lei was a member of the National Symphony Orchestra from 1991-1997 where she was appointed by Mstislav Rostropovich, then music director of that orchestra.

Richard Graef

CSO Musician since 1968

Assistant Principal Flute

Richard Graef holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and a Master of Music degree from Indiana University. He also attended the Aspen Music School and later traveled to Salzburg, Austria, to attend the Mozarteum Academy of Music.

Catherine Brubaker

CSO Musician since 1989

Viola

A graduate of the Juilliard School, Catherine was a student of William Lincer. Other teachers include Karen Tuttle and Masao Kawasaki. Catherine is a former member of the Dallas and Seattle symphony orchestras. She has served on the music faculty at Northwestern University, teaching orchestral repertoire for viola.

Mark Ridenour

CSO Musician since 1994

Assistant Principal Trumpet

Mark Ridenour is assistant principal trumpet of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. He was appointed to this position by Daniel Barenboim in 1994. From 2003 until 2005, he served as the Orchestra’s acting principal trumpet.

Chicago Symphony Orchestra
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Brass
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Trumpet

Christopher Martin

Trumpet

Principal Trumpet

The Adolph Herseth Principal Trumpet Chair, anonymous benefactor

Christopher Martin holds the Adolph Herseth Principal Trumpet Chair of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Prior to his appointment in 2005 by Daniel Barenboim, Martin was principal trumpet of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and associate principal trumpet of the Philadelphia Orchestra under Wolfgang Sawallisch.

Martin regularly appears as soloist on the CSO’s subscription series—most recently in the 2012 world premiere of Christopher Rouse’s new concerto Heimdall’s Trumpet, which was commissioned for him by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. In 2011, Martin performed a program of twentieth-century French concertos by André Jolivet and Henri Tomasi with the CSO. He also has been a featured soloist with the Australian Chamber Orchestra in addition to performing with the Grand Teton Festival and Saito Kinen Festival orchestras.

Martin received a bachelor’s degree with performer’s certificate from the Eastman School of Music, and he has served on the faculty of Northwestern University.

He may be heard on CSO Resound recordings, including the 2011 release CSO Brass Live and as trumpet soloist in John Williams’s score to Stephen Spielberg’s Lincoln.

Chris and his wife Margaret, an organist and pianist, often perform as a duo in both baroque and contemporary repertoire.

August 2014

Please note: Biographies on the CSO website are based on the information that was most recently provided to the CSO by the artists or their representatives. More current information may be available on the artists' own websites or those of their representatives.